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Staged Reading: Traces in the Wind

Date: 17 January 2017 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM, Venue: Czech Embassy

The staged reading of "Traces in the Wind," is a tone poem of remembrance using provocative words of three women who survived the Holocaust through the power of the arts, directed by Dr. Gail Humphries Mardirosian, featuring an original piano score by composer Tom Andes, and performed by Stephens College Theatre Majors.                

Event Details:
Date: January 17, 2017, at 6:30 pm          

RSVP by January 16 to https://tracesinthewind.eventbrite.com 

Location: Embassy of the Czech Republic,            
3900 Spring of Freedom Street, NW, Washington, DC 20008       

About the Performance:          
Traces in the Wind centers on three women—a Dutch, French, and Czech woman who survived the Holocaust: Rosalina Glaser, Charlotte Delbo, and Eva Kavanova. These women were betrayed, humiliated, deprived of normal living conditions, incarcerated, and experienced the depth of psychological and physical abuse and, yet, survived. Each of them personified a different perspective: Rosalina Glaser resonated hope, joy and optimism; Charlotte Delbo embodied deep reflection and anger after her survival; and Eva Kavanova personified intellectual determination. Director Gail Mardirosian said the following about the women, “It seemed as if each of these exceptional women had used their art as some form of sustenance and it gave them some renewal, at least for the soul.” Through the staged reading, Mardirosian hopes to bring their voices to life to generate reflection, connections to contemporary situations, and ultimately a call for action in current situations that challenge social justice and precipitate violence against women.        

About the Director:    
Gail Humphries Mardirosian, Ph.D., is in her third year as dean of the Stephens College School of Performing Arts, the second oldest women’s college in the country and a leading college for arts education and the performing arts. Mardirosian also serves as the artistic director for Okoboji Summer Theatre. Last year at Stephens, she directed Cabaret on campus; To Kill a Mockingbird and The Diary of Anne Frank at Okoboj. She is professor emerita at American University in Washington, D.C. Mardirosian’s broad experience encompasses academic administration, program development and fundraising and the direction of over 150 productions, including drama, musical theatre, children’s theatre, the classics and new works. She is also the past chair of the AU Department of Performing Arts, having opened both the Harold and Sylvia Greenberg Theatre and the Katzen Arts Center during her chairship. She has taught and directed in many different countries, including Greece, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, the UK, and the Czech Republic, where she was a Fulbright Senior Scholar teaching at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. She recently published a new book entitled Arts Integration in Education: Teachers and Teaching Artists as Agents of Change (Intellect Books, 2016).

About the Composer:
Tom Andes is a professor of music at Stephens College and the co-director of the Velvetones, Stephens’ vocal jazz ensemble that has performed throughout the United States, including a special performance at Carnegie Hall. Andes has been the musical director for many productions including recent productions of The Spitfire Grill and Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella at the Okoboji Summer Theatre, Cabaret on campus at Stephens College, Winter Wonderettes, and Sweet Charity. His musical direction encompasses a varied and vast repertoire. He is well known for his work in the jazz world for his jazz trio and vocal arrangements. He also recently submitted his original musical Color Blind to the New York Musical Festival for production. Andes is also the resident jazz musician at Murry’s Restaurant in Columbia, Missouri, and has a following that spans two decades.